In the News
by angie1379
Summary: These are 4 articles that could have appeared in the news following the events in Knockout, based on facts I believe would have been public record. It's a departure from my tendency to write emotional stories, but reflects my journalism background.


I do not own Castle!

These are a series of four articles written as I believe they could have appeared in the news following the events in Knockout. They include information that would likely have become public record from sources such as police reports, court documents, and official statements. It's a departure from my tendency to write emotional stories, but reflects my own journalism background.

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><p><strong>Suspect escapes from courthouse<strong>

A suspect in the prison death of a former NYPD officer escaped Monday night from the New York District Courthouse downtown.

Hal Lockwood, which is believed to be an alias, was being arraigned on murder charges in the prison killing of retired officer Gary McCallister when he escaped in a helicopter from the back lot of the courthouse.

During the escape, bailiffs Manuel Garcia and Anthony Santori, Assistant Distirct Attorney Matthew Evans, and security guard Tobias Molina were shot by three men disguised as NYPD officers. All are being treated at New York Downtown Hospital. Their conditions are still unknown. The judge for the arraignment, Judge Peter Truman, was not injured.

Witness reports of what happened inside the courtroom are unclear due to the use of a sensory-disorienting device known as a flash-bang, which simulates an explosion and renders those in the vicinity virtually blind and deaf for several minutes.

Alyssa McDaniels, a legal aid who was walking along the corridor outside the courtroom when the escape happened, said she heard a loud noise followed by gunshots, and then four men with firearms burst through the doors and ordered everyone down.

"It was like something out a movie, but it was real, so, so real," McDaniels said. "I was petrified, and I just kept seeing those guns waving over my head. Then they were gone, and it was just chaos."

Another witness outside the courtroom, Miriam Azi, said she recalled seeing a woman chase after the men. "The men ran out of the courtroom and ran down the steps, and a second later, a woman stumbled out and took off after them."

The woman was later identified as Det. Kate Beckett, who had arrested Lockwood in January on charges he shot and killed retired detective John Raglan at Sal's Diner. Then, according to the prison police reports, Lockwood was found Monday afternoon standing with a bloody knife over the body of incarcerated officer McCallister.

McCallister was in prison awaiting trial on kidnapping and manslaughter charges that date back almost 20 years. McCallister and Raglan were former partners and suspected co-kidnappers who were allegedly abducting members of Mafia families for ransom. Charges against McCallister state that his actions led to the death of an FBI agent in 1992 – a murder he and Raglan pinned on the subject of their abduction that night, Mafia boss John Pulgatti.

However, according to Theresa Polanchak, a spokesperson for the NYPD, Lockwood's connection to those events and his motive for killing both Raglan and McCallister are not known.

Polanchak said investigators are following several leads to recapture Lockwood, but haven't located him yet.

Capt. Roy Montgomery of the 12th Precinct, which is been leading the investigation into Lockwood's escape as well as the Raglan and McCallister murders, said his entire detective division is focused on capturing Lockwood.

"One of my detectives was in that courtroom when this escape went down. We will get this guy," Montgomery said.

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><p><strong>Shootout leaves five dead, including NYPD captain<strong>

Five men are dead after a shootout that took the life of one of the NYPD's own, as a decorated captain and head of the 12th Precinct was killed in the line duty.

Capt. Roy Montgomery, a 25-year veteran of the force, was gunned down yesterday in New Jersey airport hanger in an attempt to capture an escaped fugitive known as Hal Lockwood. In what investigators describe as a brief but intense volley of gunfire, Montgomery took down Lockwood and three unidentified accomplices before succumbing to three gunshot wounds he suffered in the attack.

"We have lost one of the finest officers to ever wear a badge in this city," said Chief of Police Thomas Malone in a prepared statement following the news of the captain's death. "His loss is irreplaceable in our hearts and on our force. While the details of what transpired in that hanger are still unclear, we do know that Montgomery bravely faced down four assailants. That kind of valor cannot be overstated."

A spokesperson with the Internal Affairs Division said an investigation is being conducted to determine why the captain was at the hanger without backup from other officers. Detectives within the 12th Precinct are being questioned about their knowledge of Montgomery's actions and the investigation onto Lockwood's escape.

Detectives had been tracking Lockwood, a name believed to be an alias, since his elaborate escape on Monday evening from the New York District Courthouse downtown.

Lockwood was being arraigned on murder charges in the prison death of former officer Gary McCallister when he staged an escape that involved a helicopter, the use of a sensory-disorienting device known as a flashbang, and three accomplices disguised as NYPD officers. Lockwood was in prison originally awaiting trial on murder charges in the death of another former officer, John Raglan.

Motives for both those murders are unknown, though police spokesperson Theresa Polanchak said McCallister and Raglan were both suspected of being involved in kidnapping of members of various Mafia families in the early 1990s.

According to the initial police report, Det. Kate Beckett arrived at the hanger to find Montgomery and the other men all unresponsive from apparent gunshot wounds. Beckett was accompanied by NYPD consultant and crime novelist Richard Castle.

Both Castle and Beckett declined comment. Polanchak said officers from Montgomery's precinct are grieving the loss of their captain and are committed to finding out the events that led to his death. Details about a memorial service for Montgomery are still being determined.

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><p><strong>NYPD mourns fallen captain<strong>

Officers around the city today were wearing black armbands in honor of fallen Capt. Roy Montgomery, who was shot and killed yesterday in a New Jersey airport hanger in an attempt to capture escaped fugitive Hal Lockwood.

Lockwood was also killed in a shootout that left a total of five men dead. Montgomery is believed to have killed Lockwood and three unidentified accomplices after suffering from three gunshot wounds himself – wounds that eventually proved fatal.

An investigation into the circumstances of the shooting is ongoing.

Montgomery, 50, was a 25-year veteran of the NYPD and leaves behind a wife, a son, and two daughters. He graduated from Hudson University in 1984 with a degree in criminal justice and joined the NYPD in 1986. In 1991, he was promoted to detective in the homicide division, where he remained until earning the rank of captain in 2005.

Montgomery was awarded four citations for bravery in the line of duty, most recently in February when the entire 12th Precinct received a Unit Citation for its heroism in thwarting a domestic terrorist plot to detonate a bomb in Times Square.

At the ceremony honoring the precinct, Det. Kate Beckett, a senior detective in Montgomery's squad and the first on the scene after his death, said, "The success of the 12th can be entirely attributed to its leadership. Capt. Montgomery has been an incomparable mentor and example to all of us. We were successful in this situation because of the training and guidance he provided."

That sentiment has been echoed in the outpouring of support and mourning that has followed the news of Montgomery's death.

"It's nothing less than devastating," said Police Chief Thomas Malone. "Montgomery was one of the best, both personally and professionally, and his death is not one from which we will soon recover."

New York Mayor Robert Wellington gave a brief statement, saying, "I knew Roy Montgomery well, and I respected him, admired him, and like all who knew him, I will miss him. My heart goes out to his wife, his children, and those he called family at the 12th Precinct."

Under Montgomery's command, the 12th Precinct has consistently reported one of the highest rates of closed cases in the city.

Commissioner Dale Peterson said of Montgomery, "In the face of every obstacle, from budget cuts to rising crime rates, Capt. Montgomery continued to find ways solve cases, particularly within his homicide division. He thinks outside the box and wasn't afraid to try innovative and unconventional methods. And the results have spoken for themselves."

In recent years, Montgomery garnered some attention for his unconventional decision to allow bestselling crime novelist Richard Castle to shadow his detectives – most notably, lead detective Beckett, who became the model for Castle's heroine, Nikki Heat. Montgomery has credited Castle with offering invaluable assistance on a number of high-profile cases, and both Castle and Beckett were honored individually with Medals of Valor for defusing the bomb that earned Montgomery his Unit Citation.

They received those commendations in a ceremony the took place six weeks ago.

Castle's publicist, Paula Hass, said in a prepared statement that the author considered Montgomery to be a dear friend and wise mentor, and he is mourning the captain's death deeply.

At home, Montgomery was the father of Damien Montgomery, a junior at his father's alma mater, Hudson, and Rebecca and Mary Montgomery, both at home and students at Dexter Academy.

Montgomery and his wife, the former Evelyn King, were high school sweethearts who celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary only two weeks ago. The two were married May 15, 1981.

A memorial service will be held tomorrow evening from 4 to 9 p.m., followed by a private burial Friday morning at Oaklawn Cemetery. The Montgomery family has asked that any donations be made to the Harlem Boys and Girls Club.

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><p><strong>Sniper shoots detective at captain's funeral<strong>

Tragedy struck the 12th Precinct for a second time this week when its lead homicide detective was shot while delivering the eulogy for slain captain Roy Montgomery.

Det. Kate Beckett was shot by an unidentified sniper and is listed in critical condition at Calvary Memorial Hospital, though no other details have been made public.

Witnesses say Beckett was standing at a graveside podium when a shot rang out and she was tackled to the ground by her partner and NYPD consultant, author Richard Castle.

Theresa Polanchak, a spokesperson for the NYPD said the shooting has become the NYPD's top priority.

"This was a brazen and callous attack. To shoot a police detective at a funeral attended by dozens of the NYPD is unimaginable," she said.

Beckett's father was believed to be among the mourners at the funeral, along with most of her colleagues from the 12th Precinct, Capt. Montgomery's family, and various city dignitaries invited to the private ceremony.

Assistant Medical Examiner Lanie Parish was seen administering first aid when ambulances arrived, but no official statement has been made about Beckett's condition or the reasons behind the bold attack.

Beckett was heading the search to capture escaped fugitive Hal Lockwood, an investigation that reached a deadly conclusion Wednesday night when Montgomery and Lockwood were killed in an apparent shootout that took the lives of three other men who still remain unidentified but are believed to be accomplices in Lockwood's escape.

Lockwood was charged in the murders of two retired detectives who were recently found to have been involved in a series of Mafia kidnappings and the murder of an FBI agent in the early 1990s. Lockwood allegedly killed both men – former detectives John Raglan and Gary McCallister – but his connection to them and the kidnappings they were involved with is still unknown.

When asked if Beckett's shooting had anything to do with Montgomery's death or with the Raglan and McCallister cases, Polanchak said it was too early in the investigation to speculate. However, she said officers scoured the area and recovered one shell casing near a gravestone thought to be where the shooter was hiding.

"This was clearly a planned attack because it's imposable for someone to make that shot and then disappear unless they made extensive prior arrangements."

Beckett, 32, is a nine-year veteran of the NYPD, the last five as a homicide detective in the 12th Precinct. She joined the force after graduating from New York University in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in criminology.

She was honored in March with a Medal of Valor recently for her role in thwarting a terrorist plot to detonate a bomb in Times Square in February.

She also has become somewhat of a celebrity as the inspiration for Richard Castle's newest heroine, Nikki Heat.

Castle has been acting as a consultant on various cases over the last three years as he shadows Beckett for his novels. His status as Beckett's partner, while unofficial, is widely acknowledged within the NYPD.

Castle's publicist, Paula Hass, made an request on Castle's behalf that the media and fans respect his privacy, as well as that of his and Beckett's families, and all members of the 12th Precinct. In response, various Castle fan sites were overflowing with an outpouring of support and well-wishes for both Castle and Beckett.

While many fans' comments point to suspicion of romance between the two, Haas maintained that the pair were just colleagues and close friends.

"Now is not the time to gossip about the nature of their relationship. We would all appreciate it if the focused remained on praying for Det. Beckett's swift recovery," she said.


End file.
